Sterling Brown said he has multiple stories with Kobe Bryant and highlighted the impact his brother, Shannon Brown, had on him growing up as a professional basketball player. Brown praised Carlik Jones and said Partizan fans were rightfully excited when the club signed the guard.
Sterling Brown was one of the 14 new players announced by Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in a special event on Monday. A day later, the team began their pre-season training camp.
Sterling Brown
| Position: | SG |
| Age: | 29 |
| Height: | 198 cm |
| Weight: | 104 kg |
| Birth place: | Illinois, United States of America |
Around 1200 fans filled the dedicated venue, where an orchestra performed many of the club's chants and songs. At the same time, the new squad for the upcoming 2024-25 season was officially revealed.
Brown transferred to Partizan after previously playing for ALBA Berlin last season, which was his debut year in Europe.
"I'm that 'basketball is basketball' guy. Obviously, there are differences. You are always going to go through a learning period, through a transition period. The language barrier is a big thing. The style of play, the size of the court - those are just things you can't get around. At the end of the day, basketball is basketball," Brown told Bojan Brezovac from Mozzart Sport.
"Teams are going to have strategies, schemes that they feel are the best to go out there and win. That's what you have to adapt to, that's what you have to learn quick. Then you go out there and win," the player said. "The game is individualized as certain moments - end of the play, end of the clock, you have to go out there and make a play and put the ball in the basket. It wasn't difficult, it was a transition period, though."
Brown comes from a basketball family. His brother Shannon was a professional basketball player as well, and a good one at that. He's a two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers playing alongside Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
"We competed. We competed a lot," Sterling said about his brother. "He got the best of me when I was younger. When I beat him the last two times, he kind of hung them up because he didn't want me to get all those wins. But it was great, I learned a lot from him. [He's] a big inspiration to my game, I couldn't ask for a better situation growing up."
"When he was drafted, I believe I was in 6th grade, maybe even younger. So yeah, I've definitely been around the game for a while," Brown said about growing up in an NBA environment.
As a young kid, he could see one of the greatest players of all time, Kobe Bryant, do his work.
"There are a few Kobe stories," Sterling Brown said. " was at both championship games, both the game-winners when they celebrated, and everything at the parades. That was the best. That was a lot of inspiration and motivation for me to go out there and accomplish and make it to that pinnacle of basketball besides the Olympics. That was great for me to see at a young age."
Sterling himself played for the Lakers in the NBA. In fact, it was his last club in the league before his transition to Europe.
Now, the 29-year-old gets to prove himself in a completely new environment with a completely new roster.
"I played with, against, or watched every guy there. I played with Carlik [Jones] in Dallas. I played against some of the guys, I got my fellow SMU guy [Isiaha Mike] here," Brown said. "It's going to be great, I'm looking forward to that."
Carlik Jones excited the fans in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, averaging an impressive 20.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 10.6 assists per game for South Sudan. This year in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Jones was spectacular again - 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game, including a triple-double against Team USA in the friendly game.
"As they should be!" Brown said about fans being excited about Jones' arrival to Partizan. "He's quiet, he's not too loud or too vocal, but he lets his game speak for itself. He's going to go out there, he's going to make the right plays for himself and for teammates."
"He's a winning guy. He plays the game to win. Not too flashy, not too loud. He just gets the job done. I'm excited to be back on the team with him," Brown concluded.
